Fence issue with neighbour and landlord

judywoody

We live in a 1 bed upper floor flat. We have access to it through the front of the house and our neighbour, who rents as well, has to access his flat through the back of the house. He obviously needs to get through the front gate and use the side path on the right side of the house. The 2 windows on either side of our entrance are his as well.

Here are the pictures:







He has his own gate at the back though, through which he can access his backyard of the house that also gives him extra space to store stuff. As far as I'm aware (the contract doesn't state as it was just a bog standard template) the whole space on the front is communal area which I think is acceptable.

But in essence only HE has his own extra space. When we moved in, the right side of the front garden was completely overgrown with weeds and the left side is pebbled, although there were also loads of weeds. Our flat was empty for a while and our neighbor did not bother to remove any weeds (although the contract by default states that we have to keep the communal garden area weed free). So my hubby and I spent a whole day to remove it all and were hoping to grow some flowers on the right side of the garden as this was the only area with soil. A few weeks later I come home to see a guy putting a proper fence up only on the right side of the house and an additonal gate to prevent us from accessing the right side of the garden (as you can see in the picture we just put the bamboo there to make it look a bit better as there was no fence at all before - the pic was before he put his fence up ). This gives the neighbour even more space for himself and completely disregards us.

So we contacted the agency to ask what this was all about and they didn't have a clue. They then contacted the landlord who basically said that our neighbor asked him if he could put a fence up so he can let his dogs out (He never did, and I've never seen his dogs before). My landlord is the type who says yes to everything as long as he doesn't have to pay. He only just inherited all the property and basically doesn't really think about the consequences when he gives consent.

The real reason, according to the agency, was apparently that our neighbor didn't like that we cleared the space up and he must have somehow felt disturbed by the fact that we put the bamboo fence up (which is easily removable) and worked in front of his window all day. He never spoke to us and in fact he has never spoken to us since we moved in, when we said hello he just puts his head down and walks by without saying anything. He did that since we moved in. We just wanted to make the place look tidier and put some plants up some time soon and he feels offended by that? It was actually his job while he lived there on his own to remove the weeds (unfortunately I don't have a "before" pic but it was pretty bad)

Thing is, this space will probably overgrow again with weeds which is just unfair on us and reflects on us, too. Apart from the fact that it's not fair that we suddenly have a lot less space. I think the neighbor must pay roughly the same if not less for his flat as he moved in yonks ago and the flat is the same size. Also, the fence is only up on one side and makes the other side look hideous.

So the agency addressed that with him and the landlord and tried to establish the legal boundary etc. but as expected we had to chase them up. Today all we get is a text from the agency saying the landlord has approved of the fence and we can use the pebbled side.

I am not sure what to do as we asked that they could at least put a fence up on our side. We don't even demand for the fence to be taken down but I wonder if we have grounds for rent reduction? It's all a bit odd :-(

jbainbridge

We live in a 1 bed upper floor flat. We have access to it through the front of the house and our neighbour, who rents as well, has to access his flat through the back of the house. He obviously needs to get through the front gate and use the side path on the right side of the house. The 2 windows on either side of our entrance are his as well.

Here are the pictures:

He has his own gate at the back though, through which he can access his backyard of the house that also gives him extra space to store stuff. As far as I'm aware (the contract doesn't state as it was just a bog standard template) the whole space on the front is communal area which I think is acceptable.

But in essence only HE has his own extra space. When we moved in, the right side of the front garden was completely overgrown with weeds and the left side is pebbled, although there were also loads of weeds. Our flat was empty for a while and our neighbor did not bother to remove any weeds (although the contract by default states that we have to keep the communal garden area weed free). So my hubby and I spent a whole day to remove it all and were hoping to grow some flowers on the right side of the garden as this was the only area with soil. A few weeks later I come home to see a guy putting a proper fence up only on the right side of the house and an additonal gate to prevent us from accessing the right side of the garden (as you can see in the picture we just put the bamboo there to make it look a bit better as there was no fence at all before - the pic was before he put his fence up ). This gives the neighbour even more space for himself and completely disregards us.

So we contacted the agency to ask what this was all about and they didn't have a clue. They then contacted the landlord who basically said that our neighbor asked him if he could put a fence up so he can let his dogs out (He never did, and I've never seen his dogs before). My landlord is the type who says yes to everything as long as he doesn't have to pay. He only just inherited all the property and basically doesn't really think about the consequences when he gives consent.

The real reason, according to the agency, was apparently that our neighbor didn't like that we cleared the space up and he must have somehow felt disturbed by the fact that we put the bamboo fence up (which is easily removable) and worked in front of his window all day. He never spoke to us and in fact he has never spoken to us since we moved in, when we said hello he just puts his head down and walks by without saying anything. He did that since we moved in. We just wanted to make the place look tidier and put some plants up some time soon and he feels offended by that? It was actually his job while he lived there on his own to remove the weeds (unfortunately I don't have a "before" pic but it was pretty bad)

Thing is, this space will probably overgrow again with weeds which is just unfair on us and reflects on us, too. Apart from the fact that it's not fair that we suddenly have a lot less space. I think the neighbor must pay roughly the same if not less for his flat as he moved in yonks ago and the flat is the same size. Also, the fence is only up on one side and makes the other side look hideous.

So the agency addressed that with him and the landlord and tried to establish the legal boundary etc. but as expected we had to chase them up. Today all we get is a text from the agency saying the landlord has approved of the fence and we can use the pebbled side.

I am not sure what to do as we asked that they could at least put a fence up on our side. We don't even demand for the fence to be taken down but I wonder if we have grounds for rent reduction? It's all a bit odd :-(

I can't read the words as the pictures are too big. Hope the quote helps.

G_M

Mountain? molehill?

1) go & knock on neighbour's door. Take a cake and invite him to tea or ask if he can make tea and share the cake. Have a nice chat about mutually keeping the front lookng nice.

2) Do as agency says & make the pebbled side nice. Ignore 'his' side.

3) Contact landlord and invite him to tea! Maybe suggest it's been a while since he did an inspection and it would be good to know he's happy with things. Then see if you cam get him to say 'yes' to your proposals.

judywoody

jbainbridge wrote: »

I can't read the words as the pictures are too big. Hope the quote helps.

That's strange as it looks normal to me..not sure if you read from a phone? Here are the words again:

Thanks for the quote -maybe then people can read it better :-)

judywoody

G_M wrote: »

Mountain? molehill?

1) go & knock on neighbour's door. Take a cake and invite him to tea or ask if he can make tea and share the cake. Have a nice chat about mutually keeping the front lookng nice.

2) Do as agency says & make the pebbled side nice. Ignore 'his' side.

3) Contact landlord and invite him to tea! Maybe suggest it's been a while since he did an inspection and it would be good to know he's happy with things. Then see if you cam get him to say 'yes' to your proposals.

1) I don't think so - this is the way we rented it and pay for it?!
The neighbour doesn't speak to us despite us trying to be nice, I doubt he will care about inviting him
2) There is not a lot we can do with it..it's pebbled....and our bins need to be there, too.
3) We have already spoke to the agency about our proposal, we don't know how to contact the landlord.

Thanks for nothing

G_M

judywoody wrote: »

1) I don't think so - this is the way we rented it and pay for it?!
The neighbour doesn't speak to us despite us trying to be nice, I doubt he will care about inviting him
2) There is not a lot we can do with it..it's pebbled....and our bins need to be there, too.
3) We have already spoke to the agency about our proposal, we don't know how to contact the landlord.

Thanks for nothing

You're (not) welcome.

I would respond construcively to your points above, but....no longer feel inclined to. Wonder why?

DTDfanBoy

judywoody wrote: »

Thanks for nothing

With an attitude like that it's little wonder your neighbour wants nothing to do with you :cool:

judywoody

G_M wrote: »

You're (not) welcome.

I would respond construcively to your points above, but....no longer feel inclined to. Wonder why?

Great - when were you planning to start? I get the feeling that in this forum, no matter how reasonable your request is, someone comes along and makes a patronising remark first of all without helping at all and then complains when it's not received very well and pretends that they were trying to make a constructive point. Please troll someone elses post.

judywoody

DTDfanBoy wrote: »

With an attitude like that it's little wonder your neighbour wants nothing to do with you :cool:

An attitude like what? See comment above. His remark was pretty patronising and not even slightly constructive.

Pricivius

How was G_M not constructive? He proposed 3 options for you to consider which may have solved the problem.

As a veteran of a 6 year boundary dispute, there is very rarely a straightforward answer to issues of this nature; no magic wand, I'm afraid. The owner is clearly not interested in the property and wants an easy life. If you're not happy with the property any more, and your neighbour is difficult and the landlord/owner is apathetic, maybe it's time to move?

DaftyDuck

Without wishing to make him blush, G_M is one of the most helpful and intuitive members of this forum. His comment at #3 is spot-on, and not patronising. I'd agree with most of what he has suggested. I wouldn't suggest it was patronising, just well-needed advice. G_M as a Troll? Well, I can't see it somehow.... a cross between Barry Cryer and Paul Lewis is how I see him....

All I would add is that, as far as you are aware, the area at the front is communal on both sides... Maybe the other tenant has the belief, or a contract, stating that that side is for his sole use. At the very least, it is his window under/in front of which you are working, and his direct light that you have (unilaterally, without discussion, as far as I can see) hindered with the (in my humble opinion) rather ghastly bamboo screen that you have erected rather hastily. I certainly wouldn't welcome it in front of my window, and would feel all-the-more peeved if it arrived without any discussion.

I do think your attitude may be somewhat at fault here, my opinion being founded by what you have done to the property, and how you have reacted to helpful suggestions on this forum.

Talk to all parties. Discuss. Reach amicable agreement. If you can't, then expect the bare minimum, and no more than is stipulated in the contract.